Wind farms have slashed 'billions' from the value of rural homes, a secret Government report is expected to disclose.

The Coalition is in conflict over the critical document on renewable energy because it could prove they damage countryside communities.

Liberal Democrat ministers have been accused of trying to suppress the report, commissioned by Environment Secretary Owen Paterson, because it concentrates on 'ideology' not science, sources have said.

Today more details of the document have emerged, and it is believed to reveal the impact wind farms have on rural house prices.

Mr Paterson described wind farms as a ‘complete scam’ in June and is said to be furious at attempts to hold back his report.

Consultants Frontier Economics were brought in to establish the loss to house prices caused by onshore wind.

The work is part of a wider study into how renewables impact on the countryside and the rural economy.

Glyn Davies, the Conservative MP for Montgomeryshire, told the Daily Telegraph: 'I’m expecting this report to find that house prices will be reduced over the country by a measure of billions. It is my view that any unbiased study will show that. What is absolutely crucial is that this report is allowed to come out.'
Liberal Democrat Energy Secretary Ed Davey has played down reports of a row with his Conservative Cabinet colleague in a letter to the Daily Telegraph.

He said: 'My department is not blocking a DEFRA report on the impact of wind farms.

'The Government is committed to moving to a secure, affordable, low carbon energy system, without excessively relying on any single technology.

'So, this cross-government study will look at maximising the benefits and minimising the negative impacts of all technologies, including shale gas and nuclear.'
The report is a joint project between Mr Paterson's Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

A DEFRA spokesman said: 'It is our role to rural-proof policy. We need to ensure that energy is generated in a way that is sustainable. Sustainability includes the economic as well as social and environmental impacts.'

A Government spokeswoman said: 'We need to ensure that energy is generated in a way that is sustainable and understand the effects that different technologies have on the environment and on communities across the country.

'DECC and DEFRA are working together on this report, which is not yet complete, to ensure that it meets the usual standards and quality assurances that you would expect from any Government publication.